Hello E-Connecters!
Summer is officially here! We hope that the season brings you warmth, brightness, good health, and happiness.
In today's E-Connect, we hope to kick start the 'happiness' part with some feel good stories from HDGH. Keep reading to learn more!
Until next time...
Maciah
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A sight for healthier eyes
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In early May, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Occupational Therapist, Nancy Bencak-Miljan, successfully completed a visual impairments course which will benefit patients to come.
The two day course on the Clinical Evaluation and Management of Visual Perceptual Impairments, taught valuable skills on assessing and treating patients, knowledge Nancy continues to share will all Occupational Therapists at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
Assessment and treatment of visual perceptual impairments is integral to the rehabilitation of patients following stroke and other acquired brain injuries. Visual perception is the process of extracting and organizing information, giving meaning to what we see. It is required to perform everyday tasks, such as reading, copying information from a board or understanding symbols.
Components of visual perception include:
- Eye-hand coordination - drawing precise straight or curved lines within a visual boundary.
- Figure ground - the ability to see an object when presented in a complex background with a lot of visual information at one time.
- Visual discrimination - is the foundation for when an object or shape is classified according to colour, form, pattern, size, or position.
- Position in space - relates to understanding directional language concepts, such as in/out, up/down, in front of/behind/between, left/right, when relating to objects or shapes such as letters.
- Visual memory - ability to remember and recall objects, symbols, movements, etc.
- Visual motor integration - ability to make sense of visual information and then use it appropriately when performing a motor task, such as writing.
- Visual closure - ability to visualize the whole of an object or picture when part of it is hidden or missing.
- Form constancy - ability to recognize forms and objects as the same in various situations.
The assessment and treatment skills learned through the visual impairments course will help Occupational Therapists at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare focus on rehab to improve specific problems or to compensate for limitations in daily function of our patients.
The therapists use these skills in order to identify the nature of a patient's visual impairments so that they can create an appropriate rehab plan and a faster recovery.
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Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is seeking members
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Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Patient and Family Engagement Council (PFEC) is currently looking to recruit additional community members who have received services as a patient or family member/caregiver at our organization within the past two years. This can include services as an inpatient or outpatient.
This council, which is an advisory committee to the Executive Leadership Team of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, identifies current and future opportunities to improve the care experience at our organization. They aim to ensure that the perspective of patients, family members and/or their caregivers is always considered and incorporated into organizational activities while actively listening and learning from these individuals to embed the patient voice throughout the organization and its culture.
Members must be able to commit to a minimum of 1.5 hours per month for meetings and possibly extra hours depending on the involvement of related committee work. Regular meetings are held September to June on the third Thursday of each month from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at our Prince Road campus. There are additional opportunities to participate with working groups throughout the hospital programs as the voice of the patient.
To learn more or to apply to the Patient and Family Engagement Council, please
visit our website
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Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Board of Directors invites applications for new members
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At Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, we are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our community and know that a strong, passionate, guiding team will help us achieve this.
We are currently accepting applications for new members of our Board of Directors.
Applications will be selected by matching the candidate’s qualifications against pre-identified requirements of the Board Director Profile, with a particular focus on candidates who have experience and strengths in the following areas: life skills, governance, leadership, change management and performance management, organizational development and workplace culture, corporate law, and financial management expertise.
Applications are being accepted now until June 30th. We thank all applicants for their interest in serving Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and the residents of Windsor-Essex.
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Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Chapel team up to support our caregiving professionals
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On Wednesday, June 13th, audiences of healthcare professionals gathered to be inspired and learn valuable life lessons on strategies for self-care.
Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Chapel Funeral Homes Heart and Soul Project teamed up to offer a free workshop helping our caregiving professionals in the community. The workshop, facilitated by Dr. William G. Hoy, Clinical Professor of Medical Humanities at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, addressed steps to mitigate the effects of stressful events on these individuals.
This group of professionals brings compassion and skill to the care of the seriously ill and dying. Often however, the relentlessness of such work becomes so stressful that professionals face their own unremitting stress and its result in declining professional competency, troubled relationships, and personal health challenges.
Dr. Hoy discussed the importance of living a life of balance, key people we need to be around, and strategies on noticing and preventing burnout.
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Service Excellence, Best Place to Work and Centres of Excellence;
HDGH Launches Refreshed Strategic Plan
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In September of 2017, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare began the process of refreshing the corporate strategic plan. One of the goals of this refresh was to articulate the plan in a way that enabled our frontline staff to see themselves in and feel ownership of the plan. Key to the process of refreshing the plan was extensive engagement both externally and internally across the organization. Throughout the months of October and December, a number of engagement sessions were held with staff, through a variety of mediums.
Over 250 individuals were consulted through focus groups, online surveys and engagement boards. "Building off of our previous plan, our Board of Directors, executive team, staff, physicians and volunteers remain committed to Our People, Our Patients and Our Identity," explained Janice Kaffer, President and CEO of HDGH. "With more focused attention on Service Excellence, being the Best Place to Work and creating Centres of Excellence, our team has a clear vision to guide our work into 2020."
Focusing on Service Excellence, being the Best Place to Work and creating Centres of Excellence will be achieved through a number of ways. It's about providing excellent care and an excellent patient experience. It's about advocating, communicating simply and clearly with our patients and assisting them through each transition. It's about growing our current and future leaders and listening to the voices of our people. Inspiring understanding and trust in our programs and our services. It's about being the cleanest and safest hospital in the province, for our patients and our staff.
Last week, staff, physicians and volunteers at HDGH received their first glimpse at the Refreshed plan. Carly Bell, Outreach Coordinator, indicated that she not only sees how she fits into the plan, but how she can help other departments across the organization achieve their goals. "Being the cleanest hospital isn't just the role of our environmental staff, just like being the safest hospital in the province isn't just the role of Occupational Health. We all have a role to play in creating an excellent patient experience and a safe environment for patients, families and staff."
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Moramos Shrine Club makes donation to the Regional Children's Centre
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Shriners International is a non-profit philanthropic society based on the principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth. Since its founding in 1870, approximately 350,000 members have joined 195 chapters across the world, helping to establish 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children. These passionate men commit to raising at least $700 million dollars each year - and they succeed!
Locally, the Moramos Shrine Club raises significant funds for many programs and organizations including the John McGivney Children's Centre, Windsor Regional Hospital's Pediatric Unit, Windsor-Essex Therapeutic Riding Association, the Mocha Shrine Patient Transportation Fund, and countless other programs that support the health of children.
One of their main fundraising initiatives, and the one that brought them to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare last December, is their annual Christmas Cake Sale. The Shriners tour Windsor-Essex, selling their 1,200 fruit cakes. The cakes contain all Canadian ingredients and are homemade at Linkert Country Bakery located in Wilberforce, Ontario in a quaint cabin by the lake.
Yesterday, the Moramos Shrine Club presented a cheque for $1,500 in support of the Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Regional Children's Centre.
"On behalf of our Regional Children's Centre, we are grateful to the members of our local club for this very generous donation," explained Bill Marra, Vice President External Affairs and Executive Director of the Changing Lives Together Foundation. "We very much look forward to having them back as we continue to change lives together."
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2018 Charity Golf Classic a hole in one!
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A longstanding partnership between local non-profit In Honour of the Ones We Love Inc. and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare brought out golfers last Monday, June 18th, supporting our Changing Lives Together Foundation (CLTF) at the 2018 Charity Golf Classic.
In its inaugural year, the two long-time partners raised funds for the purchase of a TapeStation 4200, an instrument used by researchers for genetic profiling on cancer biopsies. Currently, such technology does not exist in Southwestern Ontario.
At press time, the event had raised a total of $50,000, inching its way toward the purchase of the cutting edge technology. The technology will be used through Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare-based researcher Raj Atikukke and ITOS Oncology.
"To have the proceeds from this tournament go to support Raj and his groundbreaking work in genomic profiling is really very exciting for HDGH. Since being on our campus, Raj and the ITOS Team have facilitated several collaborative research projects, all aiming to personalize the way we treat cancer," said CLTF Executive Director, Bill Marra.
The TapeStation 4200 will help to ensure the quantity of good quality DNA is available for profiling.
The comfortable treatment and cure of all cancer-related diagnosis has been on the forefront of In Honour of the Ones We Love's local mission, from donating blankets to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's palliative unit, to renovating both gift shop and cafeteria in our Dr. Y. Emara Centre for Health Aging and Mobility. They are a long-time and valued partner of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, dating back to when we were located on Ouellette Avenue.
"The power of partnership can never be underestimated when it comes to changing lives," said In Honour Founder and President, Anita Imperioli. "When you have organizations moving forward together, ideas grow further, voices are louder and goals are achieved more quickly."
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Cardiac Services get a kick-start from the Bob Probert Ride
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Eight years later more than 1,500 motorcycle enthusiasts from all over are still eager to take part in one of the largest charity events in Windsor-Essex. Honouring father, husband, son, and late Detroit Red Wing player, Bob Probert, The Bob Probert Ride has raised almost a million dollars to support cardiac care in our community through programs and services offered at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
This past Sunday, riders all the way from Colorado to California, took part in the Bob Probert Ride where the Probert Family along with Major of Tecumseh, Gary McNamara announced the location of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare satellite cardiac services in Tecumseh.
The location will be part of the expansion of the Tecumseh Arena, that will include indoor sports fields, offices and smaller activity rooms.
"We have been waiting anxiously to announce the satellite location of HDGH's cardiac wellness program to the community," said Dani Probert. "To extend the current services offered into the east-end community has been one of our ambitious fundraising goals for a few years now."
In 2016, proceeds from the Bob Probert Ride were used to outfit our west-end hospital's Rehabilitation and Wellness Centre with brand new, state-of-the art-exercise equipment for those enrolled in our Cardiac Wellness Program.
"The expansion of these much needed cardiac services into the east-end will allow those residents to complete the 6-month program closer to home," said Bill Marra, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare VP of External Affairs and Executive Director of The Changing Lives Together Foundation. "One of our hospital's goals has been to provide care to patients where it is most familiar and comfortable, reaching beyond the walls of the hospital. We are excited to achieve these goals of service excellence."
Plans are still being finalized with the Town of Tecumseh. Upon groundbreaking, the project is estimated to take 16 to 18 months to complete.
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